


Facing Giants

by gtanddragons



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Meetings, G/T, Gen, Giant/Tiny, Macro/Micro, Scene Rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 21:03:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20477435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gtanddragons/pseuds/gtanddragons
Summary: More of the FE Echoes: Shadows of Valentia AU where some characters are human-sized and others are tiny.AKA did a scene rewrite of Celica and co.'s first meeting with Saber





	Facing Giants

Celica takes a deep breath, glancing back at her friends behind her. Mae, Boey, and Genny… all three seem to be quite nervous, and for good reason. They’d never really left the priory before, much less on some grand quest to find a goddess, which forced them to go right through the heart of human territory.

She actually doubts that any of them have ever met a human before in their lives, before coming to the town. Their life back at the priory had been a sheltered one, and the nuns had insisted on avoiding the gargantuan beings unless absolutely necessary.

Well, it was absolutely necessary now. They couldn’t just cross the ocean without some form of protection, after all- there were human pirates, those who would delight in catching small folk to trade or sell.

She huffs quietly, takes a deep breath…  
And, with a bit of effort, forces the massive tavern door before her open. (This town’s entire design wasn’t exactly friendly for a tiny trying to get around.)

Her companions quickly huddle up behind her like baby ducklings, staring with wide eyes at the huge building and its equally-huge residents.  
It’s a slow day for the tavern, which Celica briefly thanks the gods for. A man and a woman are sitting at a table, chatting while idly sipping wine. Another man is fast asleep, a bottle clutched in his hands- it’s still quite early in the day, so he must be recovering from a long night spent drinking.

And then Celica spots exactly who they’re looking for.  
He’s the only human here who matches the kind lady’s description. Red hair, an eyepatch, a cocky look all about him as he casually takes a swig of hard ale.  
He’s…  
Well.  
A bit intimidating.  
But if she wants a bodyguard for this mission, Celica has to hold her ground and coax the (scary) man into helping the four of them.   
Bracing herself, Celica marches towards his table, the others squeaking in surprise at her sudden movement and scrambling to follow. Genny is at her elbow, but the thirteen-year-old seems rather intrigued by the man before them. Mae is puffed up (as per usual) and marching with Celica, but it’s clear she’s a bit thrown-off by his sheer size.

And Boey is shamelessly hiding behind Celica’s back and repeatedly whimpering “this was a bad idea”.

Celica halts near the man- enough so she can be seen and heard, but not have to crane her neck back too much.   
“Pardon me!” She waves, raising her voice. “Excuse me! Sir!”

The man blinks, glancing around the tavern before his eyes settle on the ground before him.  
It appears that he’s a bit thrown-off by the group of tiny children, but he recovers quickly. His natural smirk returns.  
“You lost, little lass? This ain’t a place for children.”  
Boey lets out a shrill squeak of fear as the man lightly taps his boot on the rickety old floor. Celica pauses in order to comfortingly pat his shoulder before looking back up at the man. “Ahem. You’re Saber, yes?”  
The man raises an eyebrow. “Yep. Who’re you, girl?”  
Celica puffs her chest out a bit, attempting to look a bit bigger than she is. “My name is Celica. The people here speak quite highly of your skill with a blade… I’d like to enlist your services as a protector.”  
Saber snorts quietly, leaning over in order to hear the tiny girl better. “Guard duty, eh? You headed somewhere, or is this a local deal?”

/Now here comes the hard part…/  
“We seek the Temple of Mila.”  
Saber pauses, eyes widening as he frowns.   
“That’s awfully far, ‘specially for some tiny kids like yourselves. And I suppose you’ve already heard about our little pirate problem?”  
Celica nods. “It’s the reason I seek your aid, in fact.”  
/Deep breath. Show him you’re not afraid. Show him you’re to be respected in this deal./  
A coy smile crosses the girl’s face.  
“…Unless you think a few mere pirates are too much for you to handle?”  
The mercenary seems taken aback by her sudden bold statement, but his devious smirk quickly grows as he rests his elbow on his knee, looming over her. “Oh, that’s real cute.”

/Don’t flinch. Don’t flinch. Don’t flinch-/

“Believe me, lass. I ain’t worried about a couple sea rats. All I’m worried about is if you can pay. I don’t exactly work charity cases here. Especially when I’m risking my own neck.”

Celica nods quickly. “Mae-”  
“Already on it, Celica!” The girl at her side chirps, hefting an (for her) immense golden coin from the pack on her back. “Whew, glad to be rid of this thing…”  
Celica stifles a laugh, taking the coin in her hands. She struggles a bit under the weight of it, but hesitantly raises it in offering to the human before her. “We have this.”  
Saber whistles in surprise, reaching down and gently plucking the coin between his fingers before lifting it up to the dim light of the tavern. “A real, solid gold mark… these are a pain in the ass to get nowadays.”  
Celica automatically flinches back as his massive hand approaches her, but she holds her ground and watches (slightly unnerved) as he examines the coin. “…Will this be sufficient for your services?”

Saber appears to mull it over, eyeing the glinting gold. “You mean, will I risk life and limb for a single coin? Ordinarily, no.”  
He pauses, resting his chin in his palm. A sly smile spreads across his face. “But… since I like your moxie, I’m gonna go ahead and give you a break. You got a deal! I’ll get you to your temple. 'Sides, how much trouble could a few tiny kids be?”  
Celica’s eyes brighten, her posture straightening even further as she excitedly clasps her hands together. “Wonderful! You have my thanks, Saber. Mae, Boey, Genny, did you hear that? He’s going to escort us!”  
Mae eyes the man before forcing a smile. “Yyyeeah, should be alright! It’ll make the trip easier, anyways…”  
Genny merely continues to watch Saber with wide eyes, nodding slowly.  
Boey huffs.  
“Yeah. Great. We have a giant, scary human who LOOKS like a pirate coming with us. And who will probably sell us all. Or capture us as pets. Or toys. Or eat us.”  
Mae scowls at Boey. “Ohhh, stop being such a scaredy cat! Humans don’t eat tinies, that’s just a rumor from wayyyy back in the day.”  
Boey shakes his head firmly. “You don’t know that it’s not true! When we get roasted on a stick or put into some stew, don’t come cryin’ to me! 'Ah, Boey, I was so wrong! And you were right! Because you’re always right and I’m wrong because I hotheadedly charge into everything!’”  
Mae is about to growl out a response when Celica quickly steps between the two of them.  
“Mae! Boey! Both of you, enough. Show some manners in public, and in front of our kind escort.”  
Boey hesitates, glaring at Mae. “Fine, but I’m just saying-”  
A glare from Celica is enough to shut him up.

Meanwhile, Saber is eyeing the bickering children in front of his boots in amusement. “Heh. This job’s got easy money written all over it.” He mumbles under his breath. “What kinda fool hands over treasure like this without batting an eye? She really must be daddy’s spoiled little lass…”


End file.
